So the FCC Commissioner says we don’t need the Internet

The sole purpose of the Federal Communications Commission is to regulate cable, satellite, radio, television, wired and wireless communications. But according to the commissioner of the FCC, all those roles do not ensure that all the Americans will be having access to the internet.

In the recent speech in front of the Internet Innovation Alliance, the FCC Commssioner, Michael O’ Rielly explained the FCC’s position on the America’s right to Internet access. Just a heads up, it is quite frightening. Here’s what he said in his speech:

”It is important to note that Internet access is not a necessity in the day-to-day lives of Americans and doesn’t even come close to the threshold to be considered basic human right. I am not in any way trying to diminish the significance of the Internet in our daily lives. I recognised earlier how important it may be for individuals and society as a whole. But, people do a disservice by overstating its relevancy or stature in people’s lives. People can and do live without Internet access, and many lead very successful lives. Instead, the term “necessity” should be reserved to those items that humans cannot live without, such as food, shelter, and water.”

We do believe that the Internet access is one of the ways to dramatically improve one’s life. It doesn’t matter if you live in an urban area, or in one of the world’s remote areas. With the Internet, you get access to a wealth of information that you simply cannot compare with a library. But this doesn’t mean that a library is meaningless.

Lastly, one should note that the sole purpose of the FCC is to regulate and ensure that the Americans do have access to the Internet. Their job isn’t to regulate food, shelter or water.